You can observe a few things from these diagrams:
- Imagine that the extensions are concentric circular structures added to stretch the 747–400. There’s a main deck section and an upper deck section; note that freighter aircraft doesn’t need the egg-shaped section to extend its length.
- though the 747 has had extended upper decks, you can see that the freighter doesn’t need the extra room one and was extended using the lower-deck ring.
- All 747 upper decks terminate just forward of, or above, the wings.
- Having a full upper deck for the 747 means having a full length single aisle upper deck using the current design, but most airlines don’t have that many premium seats; so it’s like having two 737 sections joined together. The upper deck currently feels like a private jet cabin due to its length. Reports from those on EVA Air with economy class upstairs say it’s not a very spacious experience.
- Stretching the upper deck would change the 747 architecturally—it would need to be engineered—and characteristically—the hump is how we recognize the aircraft.
Rear cabin section
Author – Peter Shen
